America’s Musical Landscape
5th edition
PowerPoint by Myra Lewinter Malamut
Georgian Court University
Part 3
The Growth of Vernacular
Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
Jazz 1930-1960

Jazz reached a peak of popularity in the mid-1930s



Sweet Jazz was widely familiar by then


The Great Depression receded; this was an optimistic period
America’s involvement in World War II lay ahead
People craved more adventurous listening
Prohibition ended; real jazz was performed in a pleasanter
atmosphere than the illegal speakeasies of the 1920s

Crowds flocked to hear big bands
 By 1935 big band music resounded from radios, recordings,
juke boxes, dance halls all over the United States
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
2
Big Band Swing

Black jazz musicians added instruments to their
small combos

Developed the vibrant sound known as big band jazz, or
swing

Swing was such an appealing new sound to whites and
blacks of every stratum of society


Jazz and popular music came together for a time
Swing was the popular music of the 1930s
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
3
“Big Band” and “Swing”

Although early big bands started out with
five or six players

As time went on, the standard became twelve to
eighteen players in three sections of instruments



Brass
Reeds
Rhythm
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
4
Big Band Instruments:
The Brass Section

The brass section
consisted of


Trumpets
trombones
trombone
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
5
Big Band Instruments:
The Reed section

The woodwind section is called the
reed section

Woodwind instruments used in a
big band are played with a reed

A reed is a small flexible piece
of cane used on the
mouthpiece, to vibrate
 Saxophones and
sometimes clarinet were
used in a big band
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
clarinet
6
Big Band Instruments:
The Rhythm Section



Guitar and/or double
bass
Piano
drums
Jazz double bass player
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
7
Big Band Swing:
“Swing” and its meanings


Swing eighths

Strings of eighth notes performed in uneven rhythm

Alternating long and short notes of subjective rather than
measured length

This contributes to the flexible give-and-take, or expressive
rubato, within the steady jazz beat
“Swing” also refers to a mood, a lilt, a magical effect of great jazz

When all elements of a jazz performance come together and
work, the music swings
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
8
Big Band Swing

Eventually the big, or swing, bands experienced the stimulating
interaction between black and white musicians characteristic of
many developments of jazz

Recording companies and commercial radio stations still
segregated popular music intended for blacks and whites

But African American music inevitably became more familiar to
and popular with a widening audience

White people traveled to Harlem, New York City (a black
neighborhood) to hear outstanding black jazz musicians
jam = improvise

People were intoxicated by the indefinable trait called swing
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
9
Big Band Swing:
The Art of Arranging

Early jazz combos functioned well with free
improvisation, but larger groups of players…
 Needed structured arrangements
 Written or thoroughly worked out in rehearsals
 Often based on New Orleans originals
 Sounding similar to New Orleans and Dixieland jazz
 Large combos, more sensuous orchestration,
structure
 Big band members had more formal musical training
 Big band harmonies were more adventurous
 Only brief solo improvisations; structured pieces
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
10
Big Band Music: Arrangers

Jelly Roll Mortin, ragtime and jazz pianist, was one of the first
bandleaders to provide arrangements for his band, from the 1920s

Fletcher Henderson, pianist (1897-1952) wrote influential
arrangements that later jazz bands emulated
 Made his large groups sound as if improvising
 In fact, left room for limited improvisation

Transformed the large “sweet” dance band into a jazz band
 Skillfully alternating the independent use of each instrument
section with outstanding solos
 Henderson’s innovations were copied by dance bands of the
big band era, and high school and college jazz bands today
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
11
Big Band Music:
The Kansas City Jazz Scene


Musicians from Chicago, New York, New Orleans and
elsewhere found Kansas City a hospitable environment for
gradually developing a distinct jazz style

Kansas City Jazz was stylistically more pared-down, lighter,
more airy, less dense, more relaxed than New Orleans or
Chicago jazz

Kansas City arrangements were based on simple musical
phrases called riffs, which were repeated over and over
Count Basie dominated this jazz scene
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
12
Big Band Music:
Count (Bill) Basie (1904-1984)

Basie defined jazz as “music you can pat your foot to”

One of the most popular of all big band arrangers, Basie’s
instrument was piano


His refined “less is more” piano style proved that space or
silence is as important to music as sound
Basie’s band was admired for its rhythm section


Guitar, bass and drums produced perfectly balanced sound
Basie’s unique piano style gave further reason for some to
consider his ensemble the best swing band of all
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
13
Listening Example 46
Taxi War Dance
By Count Basie
and Lester Young (1909-1959)
Listening guide page 215
Basie introduces a rolling figure
in the lower piano range, which
continues as trumpets make
brief, emphatic comments,
accompanied by trombones and
drums
Hear Lester Young come in with
his relaxed, swinging saxophone
improvisation, which he extends
and develops
Trumpet and piano riff return,
trombone solo accompanied by
rhythm section
Instruments:
The piece continues….
Four trumpets, three trombones, three saxophones, piano , guitar,
double bass, drums
Hear Basie on piano, and Lester Young on tenor saxophone
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
14
Big Band Music:
Benny Goodman (1909-1986)

White clarinetist and bandleader

Brought big band music to national attention through his recordings
and radio programs

Goodman’s unprecedented inclusion of African American soloists in
his band was appreciated

But his exploitation of contributions of black musicians
sometimes caused resentment

Many of Goodman’s best arrangements were by Fletcher
Henderson, who never earned all the money he should have
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
15
Big Bands:
Glenn Miller (1904-1944)

An outstanding arranger, by 1940 he recorded forty-five songs that
made it onto the top seller charts


Miller developed a distinctive irresistible sound


A clarinet supported by four saxophones
Enlisted during World War II in the Army Air Forces Band



Not even Elvis Presley or the Beatles matched this record!
Updated military music for troops to enjoy
Disappeared in a small military plane (friendly fire?)
Music includes


“Moonlight Serenade”
“In the Mood”
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
16
Big Band Music:
Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981)

A noted arranger and successful instrumental soloist on piano

It was unusual for a woman to be successful in the developing
world of jazz

Arranged for Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington
 Became Ellington’s staff arranger

Contributed to all the evolving styles of popular piano music

1996: Honored with the first of an annual series of Mary Lou
Williams Women in Jazz Festivals at the Kennedy Center,
Washington, DC
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
17
Big Band Music: Edward Kennedy
“Duke” Ellington (1899-1974)

A great jazz pianist, it was said that…
 Ellington used his jazz band as his real “instrument”
 Exploring its entire range of sounds with unprecedented
imagination and creativity, using precise orchestration

Born in Washington, DC, formed a dance band in New York City
 By 1927 his band had become the ten-member famous Duke
Ellington Orchestra, playing…
 Hot New Orleans jazz at the popular Cotton Club in Harlem
 Hired the best musicians, exploited their unique sounds in
his gifted orchestrations
 Wrote for the special talents of specific musicians
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
18
Duke Ellington

Juxtaposed instruments in nontraditional
combinations

Using them in the extreme limits of their range


Transforming sounds of instruments, sometimes effectively
obscuring their identification
Recognized as a serious composer, in addition to
jazz Ellington produced symphonic works
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
19
Duke Ellington: Symphonic Works

“Black, Brown, and Beige” (1943)

“Latin American Suite” (1968)

Large-scale sacred works incorporating dancers, choruses,
gospel singers, his own band

Drawing from American musics including field hollers, Shaker
hymns, fiddlers’ dance tunes, minstrel songs, ragtime, Tin
Pan Alley, New Orleans jazz, and especially blues…

Ellington created a particular American tapestry of mood and
style
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
20
Duke Ellington: Later Years

During the early days of rock and roll, Ellington’s
jazz was heard less often

But at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival his orchestra made
a tremendous hit

Leading to a best-selling album, Ellington at Newport
 And to prestigious new concert dates
 From then, Ellington’s fame soared to unprecedented
heights
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
21
Listening Example 47
Mood Indigo
By Duke Ellington
Listening guide page 219
Brief piano introduction, then muted
sax, accompanied by walking bass
improvises on the famous melody,
barely suggesting tune fragments.
Trumpets finally introduce the lovely
theme, playing in a warm and mellow
style rather than brilliant or virtuosic as
in standard dance pieces. Bass
supplies support, and muted sax
delicately embellishes.
Walking bass = A steadily moving
pattern in the plucked string bass,
with melodic and rhythmic
implications
Tempo: Slow and bluesy; danceable
Instruments: Five trumpets, three trombones, five saxophones, (two
tenor, two alto, one baritone), two clarinets, bass, drums, and Duke
Ellington at the piano
Hear the chromatic melodies, bitonal harmonies (juxtaposing one key
over another), and dreamy mood that make this piece easy to listen
to
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
22
Women in Jazz

Women desiring to play jazz in the 1930s
and 1940s faced nearly insurmountable
odds

It was assumed they lacked the strength,
temperament, or talent of the men
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
23
All-Woman Bands

Back then, they were referred to as “all-girl” bands

These bands flourished during World War II
 Men were away at war
 People grew accustomed to women in nontraditional roles

International Sweethearts of Rhythm
 The most impressive of the all female bands
 Diverse makeup
 Mostly black; also Chinese, Indian, Hawaiian, white
 Ignored by white audiences, film makers, print media, who
would not take women jazz performers seriously
 They were a hit at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and Savoy Ballroom
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
24
Reactions against Big Band Music

1940s—A new generation of young Americans unfamiliar with early
jazz danced to big band music
 Older people enjoyed big band music, too
 Big bands based their music upon marches, hymns, and Tin
Pan Alley songs which the older folks liked

Reactions against big band music set in at the same time
 Because arrangements grew more complex, emphasizing
rhythm and swing rather than melody
 The source tune sometimes was unidentifiable
 The swing crowd preferred the simple songs to the new
challenging instrumental arrangements
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
25
Reactions against Big Band Music:
Popular Music and Vocalists

Early jazz had important reciprocal relationships with popular song



They improvised on popular song melodies and harmonies
Many songs of the 1920s and 1930s were jazz-flavored
Big bands played arrangements of Tin Pan Alley songs

In the 1930s big bands began to work with vocalists
 Big band style assumed the role of accompaniment
 Ella Fitzgerald (1918-1996)—Known for scat singing
 Rudy Vallee and Bing Crosby—Famous crooners,
thanks to microphone technology and recording
engineers
 Frank Sinatra
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
26
Reactions against Big Band Music:
Orchestras

By the mid-1940s the favored lush string sound
of an orchestra replaced big bands for
accompanying vocalists

Crowds came not so much to dance as to hear the
popular singers
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
27
Billie Holiday (1915-1959)

Born Eleanora Fagan and known as Lady Day, Holiday trod softly
between the worlds of jazz and pop




Interpreted blues songs as a great jazz singer
Her way of “microphonizing” her voice was innovative
 Used microphone—a new enhancement—to alter her voice
and add expressive effects
The ballad “Strange Fruit,” by Jewish songwriter Abel Meeropol
(1903-1987), expressively sung by Holiday, was based upon a
picture of a lynching
Holiday was a tragic figure who died a pauper
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
28
Bebop: Background

In the early 1940s a few virtuosic black musicians revolted against
the domestication of jazz and 1930s swing bands

They reacted against polished performances of written,
rehearsed “jazz” and created a new style known as bebop

They resented
 Limitation to the short stylized solos of big band music
 Dependence on written arrangements
 Lack of freedom to improvise
 Disproportionate financial rewards granted to less creative
and less innovative white musicians
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
29
Bebop

Bebop musicians created a tight, difficult, virtuosic
music


A return to the ideals of early jazz—improvisation,
virtuosity, close interaction between soloist and combo
Bebop is considered the first truly modern jazz

Performed-- like early jazz, and like concert music of its
era-- by small ensembles of virtuoso musicians
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
30
Bebop: Characteristics

Stark, clear, technically demanding instrumental lines

Angular melodies with large unpredictable leaps

Solos so rapid-fire that they were too fast to dance to

Rather than following a prearranged or familiar harmonic
progressions, bop musicians challenged each other to chart new
harmonic paths and make them work
 Dissonant chords startled listeners’ ears; improvisation on
harmony instead of melody was new and puzzled listeners

The best bebop musicians achieved a revolutionary sound that
changed the course of jazz
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
31
Bebop: Instruments

Typical bebop combo:

Trumpet, saxophone, double bass, piano, percussion

Trumpet and sax—melody instruments—sometimes started by
playing a pop, blues, or original melody in unison
 Then alternating with increasingly complex improvisations,
supported by other players

Double bass marked the beat
 Sometimes took melodic responsibility by playing walking
bass

Piano and percussion supplied unexpected, irregular accents
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
32
Bebop:
Charlie “Bird” Parker (1920-1955)

An amazing saxophone virtuoso,
considered by some as the most
influential of all jazz musicians



Introduced new rhythmic, melodic,
improvisational techniques
Known for his fiercely rapid tempo
and unrelenting emotional intensity
Jammed in Harlem’s clubs with
pianist Thelonius Monk (19211982) and trumpeter Dizzy
Gillespie
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
33
Bebop: John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie
(1917-1993)

Improvised rhythms of a complexity unprecedented in
Western culture



Gillespie enjoyed African Cuban rhythms and sounds


Reached notes no one knew the trumpet could play
Devised harmonic changes defying the accepted rules of
harmony
Included them in pieces such as “Manteca”
Comfortable with a variety of jazz styles and techniques, less
zealous than Parker, Gillespie was an active performer until
shortly before his death
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
34
Listening Example 48
KoKo
Performed by
Charlie Parker (alto saxophone)
Dizzie Gillespie (trumpet, piano)
Max Roach (drums0
Curley Russell (bass)
Listening Example 48
At a session to record the swing
standard “Cherokee,” by Ray Noble,
Parker and Gillespie improvised halfheartedly on the tune until Parker,
tired of the familiar melody, decided
to improvise instead on the chords.
Instead of beginning with the usual
reference to the standard tune,
Parker used bits of his own melodic
material, skillfully weaving them over
and through the unusual chord
changes of “Cherokee.” The
resulting historic recording—one of
Parker’s greatest solos—is based on
no prewritten melody at all.
Parker’s “KoKo” is not related to
Duke Ellington’s earlier piece of the
same name.
Tempo: Extremely rapid
Hear solos interspersed with chorus in AABA form, as well as the
virtuosity, musicianship, and compatibility of these outstanding
musicians
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
35
Bebop: Audience

At the time Parker and Gillespie were leading the bebop revolution


A recording artists’ strike caused a ban on commercial
recordings of popular music for about two years
 After the ban, audiences, not understanding bebop, were
nonplussed by its sophistication and complexity
Bebop is important music

Challenged and stimulated musicians and listeners

Ushered in the age of modern jazz
 Meant for listening more than dancing; a concert music
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
36
Jazz as Concert Music

A number of composers have written classical and popular music
 Applying classical knowledge to popular pieces
 Or refusing to distinguish between classical and popular music

1940s: Jazz musicians absorbed influences from classical music
 Jazz had become music for serious listening

1950s: Jazz was performed frequently in concert
 Black and white jazz musicians took an intellectual approach
 And so did listeners
 Jazz criticism became a recognized field

Some jazz composers collaborate with poets, choreographers,
classical musicians, producing serious concert works
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
37
Jazz as Concert Music:
Jazz Composition

The essence of jazz is improvisation

The challenge for musicians wishing to combine classical
and jazz techniques is creating a balance between

What was written

What was improvised by the soloists

What an ensemble achieved collectively
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
38
Jazz Composition

There were precedents for requiring performers in the
classical tradition to improvise

During the Baroque period (1600-1750)
 Composers wrote the melody and bass lines of a piece
 Harmonies were to be filled in by lute or keyboard

Early Classical period (1750-1825)
 Soloists improvised one or more cadenzas in a solo
concerto

Church organists
 Expected to improvise music that connects one part of a
service, or one verse of a hymn, to another
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
39
Classical Improvisation as Compared
with Jazz Improvisation

Classical musicians improvised within established guidelines

Jazz as classical music was a new concept

Symphonic jazz of the 1920s was concert music with some of
the flavors of jazz

Big band arrangements approached the concept of composed
music but were hardly original compositions

But by the 1940s, jazz composers were writing original jazz
compositions

At that point jazz entered the world of art music
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
40
Jazz as Concert Music:
Duke Ellington and Classical Music

As a classical composer, Ellington wrote








Tone poems
Ballet suites
Concerto-like miniatures for star sidemen
Sacred music
Topical revues
Film scores
Extended jazz works
A comic opera, Queenie Pie, for public television
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
41
Jazz as Concert Music: Duke
Ellington, a Prolific Composer

Ellington has been referred to as America’s most prolific composer
of the twentieth century
 Composed almost 2,000 pieces
 Composed in a large variety of musical forms

Serious compositions often reflected American black experience
 1943: Black, Brown, and Beige, Carnegie Hall premiere
 Subtitled “A Tone Parallel to the History of the Negro in
America”

1945: Ellington’s orchestra was the only dance band selected to
pay tribute to the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a
memorial radio broadcast
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
42
Listening Example 49
Concerto for Cootie
By Duke Ellington
Listening guide page 227
Ellington wrote this piece
to feature the trumpeter
Charles “Cootie” Williams
Despite the definition of a
concerto, Ellington chose
to write this as a onemovement piece
Yet, this piece retains the
masterful interplay
between soloist and
orchestra characteristic
of a classical form
ABA
Form:
Meter: Four beats to the bar
Tempo: Relaxed
Instruments: Saxophones, clarinet, trumpets, trombones, bass, drum
Concerto = Multimovement composition for orchestra and one or
more soloists; i.e., a piece consisting of several independent
sections, or movements
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
43
Progressive Jazz:
Stan Kenton (1912-1979)

1949: Pianist arranger Stan Kenton led a twenty-piece
orchestra in a jazz concert in Carnegie Hall

His tightly organized and beautifully balanced ensemble played
with elegance and precision

Kenton named this music progressive jazz
 Progressive jazz became the name of a new jazz movement

Another contribution Kenton made to modern jazz included
serious exploration of Latin American drums and rhythms in
his big band jazz
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
44
Progressive Jazz Artists

In the East:
 Stan Kenton and Woody Herman

In the West:
 Dave Brubeck (b. 1910)
 Pianist and classically trained composer who studied with
French composer Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)
 Brubeck used European art music effects that are
 Atonal = without a tonic
 Polytonal = with two or more tonics
 Complex rhythms, including jazz polyrhythms
 Irregular meters– five or seven beats per measure
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
45
Listening Example 50
Take Five
by Paul Desmond
Performed by
Dave Brubeck Quartet
(Piano, sax, bass, drums)
Dave Brubeck’s Quartet
(Brubeck as pianist,
Paul Desmond on alto sax,
Joe Morello as drummer,
and David Wright on bass)
Achieved unprecedented
popularity and sales for a
jazz recording with
Desmond’s engaging piece
“Take Five”
Listening guide page 228
Meter: Quintuple, or five beats per measure, divided in the pattern
one-two-three-four-five
Notice the piano marking the beginning of each measure with a low
accented pitch while the sax and drum solos weave intricate
patterns over the steady five-beat accompanying figure
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
46
Cool Jazz

Closely related to and sometimes
indistinguishable from progressive jazz

Originated by composers reacting to bebop’s
complexity

Jazz musicians organized larger bands including


French horn, oboe
More elegant and less hot than bebop

Reflected influence of European concert music
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
47
Cool Jazz:
Trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991)

1949-1950: Davis led the nine-piece orchestra that recorded
the album later titled Birth of the Cool


The album, a project of Davis’s, later made a major impact on
jazz musicians and fans
In addition to cool jazz, Miles Davis explored

Expanding the melodic possibilities of jazz by basing melodies
on modes rather than major, minor, or blues scales

Throughout his life, Davis experimented with creative ideas in
jazz
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
48
Listening Example 51
Boplicity
By Miles Davis and Gil Evans
Performers: The Miles Davis Nonet
An example of cool jazz,
this piece demonstrates
Miles Davis’s self-restraint
and dramatic timing; silence
is as important as the notes
Hear how the music is
slower-paced, less
emotional, more cerebral,
quieter than the impassioned
sounds of bebop
Listening guide page 230
Listen for the trumpet and alto saxophone on top, the baritone
saxophone and tuba on the bottom, and the horn and trombone in
the center, accompanied by rhythm instruments
The diminished use of vibrato (a discreet variation in pitch that adds
warmth and intensity to vocal and instrumental sounds), produced a
drier, “cool” sound compared with the hot effects of bebop
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
49
Hard Bop

A style combining driving rock-related rhythms with the “amen
chords” of gospel







Created by certain black musicians in the late 1950s
Derives from the blues; strong rhythms, bluesy phrasing
Melodies are straight-forward
Harmonies are simplified
Rigid beat punctuated with strong backbeats
Improvised around new, unknown melodies
Drummer Art Blakey (1919-1990) and his group the Jazz
Messengers
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
50
Image Credits




Slide 5: Trombone
© C Squared Studios/Getty Images
Slide 6: Clarinet
©Getty Images
Slide 7: Jazz Bass Player
© C Squared Studios/Getty Images
Slide 33: Charlie Parker
© Corbis
© 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Part 3: The Growth of Vernacular Traditions
Chapter 13: Jazz 1930-1960
51